‘It has taught me to embrace life more’: Jessie J on her health battle, career returns and conquering the Chinese market

You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.

The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Hey, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees